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What’s Up in Greece on Dec 1?
Posted by keeptalkinggreece in Very Mix
A general strike is up in Greece with public and private sector unions ADEDY and GSEE members flocking in downtown Athens for a protest march. The Police has ordered the closure of the Metro stations <Syntagma> and <Panepistimio> for security reasons, i.e. that in case of riots, these metro stations will not turn into battle-fields full of tear gas. Main streets in city centre are closed to traffic. If there will be any ‘derailing’ today, KTG will have a live blogging, as usual. Protesters meet at several points at 11 am and later they will march towards the Greek Parliament. Greeks oppose the strict austerity, the labour reserve measure that sends thousands at home with sharp decrease in their income, the heavy tax loads.
Inside the Parliament, MPs will vote for the Budget 2012. Employees and pensioners get ready for new income decreases!
Greek media are in a kind of ‘strike’ and will report only about issues related to the strike and protest. On Wednesday, Greek media went on a 24-hour strike, one day before the general mobilization due to sharp criticism in the past, when journalists were on strike on the same day and there was no coverage of the events.
A new multi-bill is on fast-track procedures, that will cut further main and supplement pensions, will increase the contributions to insurance funds and will cut sharply social benefits. Not to mention that the so-called ‘emergency solidarity tax’ will be withdrawn month by month from salaries and pensions. That is also the new government of Papademos uses the same old tactic and attack the employees and the pensioners. The plight has no end…
Italy and Greece top the list of Transparency International as the most corrupted countries within the euro zone. More on this on a separate post.
The Troika has tabled Greece a new list of conditions so that the second bailout will be approved. Among the tasks that the Greek government has to fulfill are the privatizations and the opening of closed professions. The same tasks as this year and last year and …next year… Meanwhile, PM Lucas Papademos send his letter to Troika that he will stick to the October 26th Loan-Agreements. the EU and IMF had repeatedly asked from the Greek political leadership “letters of consent” in order to release the 6th aid tranche.
More and more mayors oppose the ‘emergency property tax’ and show their dismay with protest actions. In Patras, the municipality will symbolically “cut the electricity” from 8 pm to 10 pm. In Tripolis, municipality services will be closed tomorrow.
It seems that the area of Attica will get its own facilities for cremationof the dead. The Orthodox Church has been fiercely opposing this practice. When will people have the option to choose among the two ways of burial? In a couple of years, I guess…
Journalist Pantelis Kapsis has been assigned as the new government spokesman.
Have a great month everyone (KaloMina!) and try to get some Christmas spirit by helping the needy! Their number increases day by day!
Keep Tuned with Keep Talking, Greece!
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Kaló mína! Nice start to this festive month: General Strike! Let’s hope everybody gets into the X-mas spirit. Although with this blazing sunshine it might be difficult. And let’s hope those ‘known unknown’ will choose to light some candles instead of molotov cocktails this time.
And yes, after two years those birdbrain Journalist Unionist at last get it… Saw yesterday the coverage of the British about their strike. Live blog and all. I became abundantly clear what was happening and what were the points they were striking for. THAT’s what you do if you want to bring your point home to politicians and the world. The times they are a changing it seems.